November 23, 2008
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House

H.R. 69, Online Privacy Protection Act
Sponsor: Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J.
Introduced: Jan. 7, 2003
Committee: House Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 69 would require the FTC to formulate regulations governing the control of personal information collected on all Web sites. The bill aims to cover personal privacy not included in the 1998 Child Online Protection Act. It would mandate that Web sites give notice of their privacy practices and provide a process for users to consent to those practices. The measure, one of three on privacy introduced the same day by Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., also would give the FTC greater control over the collection and use of that information. The other two bills are H.R. 70 and H.R. 71.
H.R. 70, Social Security Online Privacy Protection Act
Sponsor: Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J.
Introduced: Jan. 7, 2003
Committee: House Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 70 would restrict the use of the Social Security numbers on the Web in an effort to prevent their use for fraud. The bill would prohibit the "mining" of personal information from Web sites and of selling that information without prior written consent. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., introduced two other privacy bills the same day, H.R. 70 and H.R. 71.
H.R. 71, Wireless Privacy Protection Act
Sponsor: Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J.
Introduced: Jan. 7, 2003
Committee: House Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 71 seeks to prevent cell-phone spam before it becomes a serious problem. The bill would require customer consent before advertisers and marketers could obtain information on the origination points of wireless calls. The marketers and advertisers could not divulge the information to third parties without that consent. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., introduced two other privacy bills the same day, H.R. 70 and H.R. 71.
H.R. 115, Aviation Biometric Badge Act
Sponsor: Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo.
Introduced: Jan. 7, 2003
Committee: House Transportation and Infrastructure
Description: H.R. 115 would require security screeners and airport personnel with access to restricted areas to carry biometric badges. The badges could be used to identify the employees by fingerprints and retinal scans. Privacy provisions in the bill would prohibit the sharing of the biometric data with any other agency without a court order and would require that the badges be destroyed no later than 30 days after an employee's departure from his job.
S. 153, Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act
Sponsor: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
Introduced: Jan. 14, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description:S. 153 would create a separate crime of “aggravated identity theft” for any person who uses the identity of another person to commit certain serious, federal crimes. The bill also would strengthen the ability of law enforcement to pursue ID thieves. And the legislation would clarify that the current 25-year maximum sentence for ID theft to facilitate international terrorism also applies in cases of domestic terrorism.
H.R. 220, Identity Theft Prevention Act
Sponsor: Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas
Introduced: Jan. 7, 2003
Committee: House Ways and Means; Government Reform
Description: H.R. 220 would impose limits on the government's use of Social Security numbers or any other "identifying number." The bill would prohibit any two federal agencies from implementing the same number to identify someone, and it would ban any uniform identification standard. Social Security numbers would have to be generated randomly and would be considered the "exclusive property" of the people they identify. The numbers could not be divulged to any federal, state or local agencies, or individuals.
H.R. 773, 21st Century Access to Banking Act
Sponsor: Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Texas
Introduced: Feb. 13, 2003
Committee: House Financial Services
Description: H.R. 773 would codify a policy that allows financial institutions to accept identification cards issued by the Mexican government to open accounts for immigrants. In 2002, the Treasury Department urged U.S. banks to accept “matricula consular” -- which are much like driver's licenses, with personal information such as names, birth dates and U.S. addresses, and the word "Mexico" printed in the upper left corner -- as a valid form of ID. More than 70 institutions now do so, but criticism of the policy is increasing, in part because Mexico reportedly does not have a secure computer system to track Mexican nationals who use the cards in the United States. The bill would codify the validity of the cards. Two competing bills, H.R. 502 and H.R. 687, would prohibit federal agencies from accepting any such foreign cards as identification.
H.R. 781, Privacy Protection Clarification Act
Sponsor: Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Ill.
Introduced: Feb. 13, 2003
Committee: House Financial Services
Description: H.R. 781 would exempt attorneys from the financial privacy provisions of the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Bill sponsor Judy Biggert, R-Ill., said her measure is necessary because the rules the FTC drafted to implement the law are so broad that they require attorneys who engage in financial activities, such as tax preparation and debt-collection cases, to send privacy notices to their clients. Just sending those notices, which inform clients of their right to "opt out" of the sharing of their personal information with other entities, may violate stricter "opt in" confidentiality policies governing the legal profession, Biggert said.
H.R. 818, Identity Theft Consumer Notification Act
Sponsor: Rep. Gerald Kleczka, D-Wis.
Introduced: Feb. 13, 2003
Committee: House Financial Services
Description: H.R. 818 is designed to help consumers who become victims of identity theft. The legislation would require banks to notify customers immediately if someone tampers with their personal financial information. Banks would have to reimburse any losses and would face penalties if they do not act soon enough. The penalties could include the loss of status as a federally insured deposit institution, as well as civil fines. Law enforcement officials could request temporary waivers of the disclosure rules to further investigations.
H.R. 858, Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act
Sponsor: Rep. John Tanner, D-Tenn.
Introduced: Feb. 13, 2003
Committee: House Judiciary
Description: H.R. 858 would make identity theft a separate crime. It also would establish penalties for “aggravated identity theft,” or the stealing of someone else’s identity to commit immigration violations, acts of international or domestic terrorism, or other specific crimes.
S. 1458, Financial Institution Privacy Protection Act
Sponsor: Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.
Introduced: July 25, 2003
Committee: Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Description: S. 1458 would extend the protections in banking law for personal information, including data, tissue samples and genetic material that could be used to identify people. The bill would expand the penalties set under a 1999 statute and seek to ensure that no one is denied financial services for refusing to let institutions share their personal data.
H.R. 1636, Consumer Privacy Protection Act
Sponsor: Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla.
Introduced: April 3, 2003
Committees: House Energy and Commerce; International Relations
Description: H.R. 1636 would require data collectors to notify consumers about who is collecting personal information and for what purposes. The data collectors also would have to let consumers limit the sale or disclosure of their personal information to third parties. The bill also would pre-empt stronger state laws, forbid privacy-related lawsuits by consumers and give the FTC the sole authority to enforce the rules implemented under the legislation.
H.R. 1731, Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act
Sponsor: Rep. John Carter, R-Texas
Introduced: April 10, 2003
Committee: House Judiciary
Description: H.R. 1731 would impose a jail sentence of two years on people who knowingly steal someone else’s identity. If the theft were related to terrorism, the penalty would be increased by five years. Sentences would not run concurrently.
H.R. 1733, Stop Taking Our Health Privacy (STOHP) Act
Sponsor: Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass.
Introduced: April 10, 2003
Committees: House Energy and Commerce; Ways and Means; Veterans' Affairs; Administration
Description: H.R. 1733 looks to restore privacy protections modified by the medical privacy rules that took effect April 14, 2003. The bill addresses three areas: consent, marketing and disclosure. Under the measures, patients would have to give their permission before their personal medical information could be used or disclosed for treatment or payment. Drug companies could not pay pharmacies for patient names in order to contact those patients to sell particular drugs. And patient information could only be disclosed if keeping it private could put others at risk. That would include such things as disclosures about medical side effects to the Food and Drug Administration. The bill also would let U.S. consumers buy prescription drugs via online pharmacies based in Canada, where drugs are cheaper because of the regulated healthcare system.
H.R. 1766, National Uniform Privacy Standards Act
Sponsor: Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio
Introduced: April 11, 2003
Committee: House Financial Services
Description: H.R. 1766 would extend the expiring provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which are set to expire at the end of 2003. The bill also would amend the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act on banking modernization to ensure that states or localities cannot create a patchwork of differing privacy regulations for consumer financial information. The goal is to link the renewal of the privacy-related FCRA provisions to the broader implementation of consistent national rules on financial privacy.
H.R. 1931, Personal Information Privacy Act
Sponsor: Rep. Gerald Kleczka, D-Wis.
Introduced: May 1, 2003
Committees: House Ways and Means; Financial Services
Description: H.R. 1931 would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit the sale or distribution of someone's Social Security number without the written consent of that person. The bill also would ban businesses from selling consumer information for marketing purposes without written permission of their consumers.
H.R. 2003, Health Care Practitioner Protection Act
Sponsor: Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark.
Introduced: May 7, 2003
Committee: House Energy and Commerce; Ways and Means; Judiciary
Description: H.R. 2003 seeks to legally protect people who unintentionally reveal private health information. The bill states that if someone reveals such data without knowing that they are breaking federal law, criminal penalties would not be imposed.
H.R. 2035, Identity Theft and Financial Privacy Protection Act
Sponsor: Rep. Darlene Hooley, D-Ore.
Introduced: May 8, 2003
Committee: House Financial Services
Description: H.R. 2035 seeks to protect consumers from identity theft. In order to curtail fraud, the legislation would require credit-card providers and similar organizations to notify customers of attempted changes to their accounts (such as changes of address). It also would require that only the last four digits of credit- or debit-card numbers be displayed on statements, receipts or order confirmations.
H.R. 2196, Medical Independence, Privacy and Innovation Act
Sponsor: Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.
Introduced: May 21, 2003
Committee: House Ways and Means; Government Reform; Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 2196 looks to prevent privacy violations, and it addresses the privacy of medical information and Social Security numbers. Under the bill, if a company wants to use someone’s health information for marketing purposes, the individual would have to consent first and be told how the data would be used. A health privacy ombudsman would investigate any potential abuses. In addition, the measure would prohibit more than one federal agency from using the same identifying number, including the Social Security number, for an individual.
H.R. 2544, Medical Independence Privacy and Innovation Act
Sponsor: Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.
Introduced: June 19, 2003
Committee: House Energy and Commerce; Judiciary
Description: H.R. 2544 seeks to reform the nation's healthcare system by increasing consumer access to more affordable and innovative services and prescriptions while also protecting patient privacy. The measure would prohibit healthcare providers from disclosing information without prior patient consent and would define the circumstances under which healthcare professionals do not need permission to release medical information. In essence, the measures seek to allow consumers to avoid receiving marketing or commercial information unless they have specifically asked for it.
H.R. 2617, Consumer Identity and Information Security Act
Sponsor: INSERT SPONSOR
Introduced: June 26, 2003
Committees: House Financial Services; Ways and Means; Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 2617 seeks to protect personal data by limiting its use for other than the intended purposes. The bill would prohibit companies and agencies from displaying or using Social Security numbers for the delivery of services. It would require electronically printed credit-card receipts to contain only the last five digits of account numbers and not to display expiration dates.
H.R. 2622, Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act
Sponsor: Rep. Spencer Bachus, R- Ala.
Introduced: June 26, 2003
Committee: House Financial Services
Description: H.R. 2622 would specify procedures for credit-card issuers and credit-reporting agencies that handle consumer requests for additional credit cards, address changes and fraud alerts. The companies would have to flag suspicious activity in consumer accounts, improve data accuracy, and notify people of adverse information resulting from identity theft and remove that data from credit reports. The measure would entitle consumers to one free credit report a year and would mandate that electronically printed credit- and debit-card receipts contain only the last four digits of account numbers and no expiration dates in order to deter prevent identity theft.
H.R. 2633, Identity Theft Protection and Information Blackout Act
Sponsor: Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill.
Introduced: June 26, 2003
Committee: House Ways and Means; Energy and Commerce; Judiciary; Financial Services
Description: H.R. 2633 would require tighter control of consumers' personal data, including health information, to prevent breeches of privacy and identity theft. The measure would establish national standards for the use of Social Security Numbers by government and private organizations, and forbid certain financial institutions from indiscriminately sharing consumers' health information.
H.R. 2929, Safeguard Against Privacy Invasions Act
Sponsor: Rep. Mary Bono, R-Calif.
Introduced: July 25, 2003
Committee: House Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 2929 would make it illegal to use or collect data from "spyware" programs installed on Internet-connected computers unless the users actively request such software. Spyware collects and transmits data on computer usage to third parties, often without the consent or knowledge of users. Under the measure, the FTC would have to protect consumers from unknowingly having personal information read or stored by third parties. The commission would create a license, contract or other agreement, a mechanism for agreeing to the terms, and the names and street addresses of any people or entities transmitting spyware programs. The FTC also would have to create a Web page for posting the contract terms online.
H.R. 2971, Social Security Number Privacy and Identity Theft Prevention Act
Sponsor: Rep. E. Clay Shaw, R-Fla.
Introduced: July 25, 2003
Committee: House Ways and Means; Financial Services; Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 2971 seeks to improve the protection of Social Security information. The bill would prohibit the use of Social Security numbers as personal identification on checks, employee records, driver’s licenses and other documents. Purchase or sale of the numbers also would be illegal and punishable under federal law.
H.R. 3171, Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act
Sponsor: Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio
Introduced: Sept. 24, 2003
Committee: House Judiciary; Education and the Workforce; Government Reform; Intelligence; Transportation and Infrastructure
Description: H.R. 3171 would mandate a review of recent anti-terrorism legislation to ensure that it does not violate citizens' civil liberties. The measure would limit the Justice Department's power to use "sneak and peek" search warrants that let police delay their notification of suspects about the warrants. Justice's power to obtain business and library records under a foreign intelligence law also would be curtailed, among other things.
H.R. 3233, Identity Theft Notification and Credit Restoration Act
Sponsor: Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill.
Introduced: Oct. 2, 2003
Committee: House Financial Services
Description: H.R. 3233 would require financial institutions to notify consumers, credit-reporting agencies and law enforcement when security information systems are breached in a manner that compromises personal financial information. The bill also would require credit-reporting agencies to place fraud alerts in victims’ credit files when such breaches occur to prevent the issuance of new credit in those names. Victims of identify theft would be entitled to four credit reports in the year following a theft. In addition, all consumers would be entitled to one free credit report and their credit scores annually.
H.R. 3254, Consumer Credit and Identity Protection Act
Sponsor: Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J.
Introduced: Oct. 7, 2003
Committee: House Financial Services
Description: H.R. 3254 would allow only the display of the last four digits of bank-account numbers on forms for electronic fund transfers. The bill also requests that the board of governors for the Federal Reserve System study the feasibility of permitting only electronic terminals for any transactions involving credit or debit cards, requiring the use of identification other than signatures to use such cards, and requiring the truncation of account numbers on any receipts involving the cards; and the likelihood of such steps to reduce identity theft and fraud.
H.R. 3552, Untitled
Sponsor: Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.
Introduced: Nov. 20, 2003
Committee: House Judiciary; Intelligence
Description: H.R. 3552 would stipulate that people who commit international terrorism but are not affiliated with particular terrorist groups be categorized as agents of a foreign power. The attorney general each year would submit to Congress a report detailing how many foreigners were targeted for electronic and physical surveillance under the bill.
H.R. 3558, Wireless 411 Privacy Act
Sponsor: Rep. Joseph Pitts, R-Pa.
Introduced: Nov. 20, 2003
Committee: House Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 3558 would set guidelines for listing people's mobile telephone numbers in a wireless directory. The bill would require all wireless carriers to get authorization from existing customers before including their numbers in a new directory and to let new customers opt out of having their numbers listed. Carriers could not charge fees for unlisted numbers.
H.R. 3693, Identity Theft Investigation and Prosecution Act
Sponsor: Rep. Robert Scott, D-Va.
Introduced: Dec. 8, 2003
Committee: House Judiciary
Description: H.R. 3693 would authorize up to $100 million to provide additional resources to the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute identity theft and other fraud. Reports of ID theft and other types of fraud have increased as a result of the Internet.

Senate

S. 188, Data-Mining Moratorium Act
Sponsor: Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis.
Introduced: Jan. 16, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S. 188 would immediately suspend funding for “data mining” by the Defense and Homeland Security departments until Congress has thoroughly reviewed such practices. The bill was introduced after privacy concerns raised by Defense’s Total Information Awareness project, which would allow government officials to search various networks in the private sector in an effort to identify potential terrorists. The Senate in January 2003 adopted similar language as an amendment to an omnibus spending bill for fiscal 2003.
S. 223, Identity Theft Prevention Act
Sponsor: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
Introduced: Jan. 28, 2003
Committee: Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Description: S. 223 would increase the penalties for identity theft. It would designate a separate crime of "aggravated identity theft" for individuals who use stolen identities for terrorism, including bombings, hostage taking and the destruction of airplanes.
S. 228, Social Security Number Misuse Prevention Act
Sponsor: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
Introduced: Jan. 28, 2003
Committee: Not referred to committee
Description: S. 228 would ban the display of Social Security numbers on many government documents, including driver's licenses, government-issued checks, tax liens and public court records. It also would prohibit the display or sale of the numbers to the general public, but certain government- and business-related purposes, such as fraud prevention and credit checks, would be exempt from the ban. The measure seeks to curtail identity theft.
S. 410, Foreign Intelligence Collection Improvement Act
Sponsor: Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C.
Introduced: Feb. 13, 2003
Committee: Senate Intelligence
Description: S. 420 would establish a Homeland Intelligence Agency to replace FBI units that, according to bill sponsor John Edwards, D-N.C., have failed to prevent terrorist attacks or find suspected terrorists. The agency would focus on intelligence, not law enforcement, and the legislation includes privacy provisions designed to protect civil liberties. Edwards identified the measure as the centerpiece of six homeland security measures he authored.
S. 436, Domestic Surveillance Oversight Act
Sponsor: Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
Introduced: Feb. 25, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S. 436 would amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to require that government agencies share information regarding their use of the law. The agencies would have to disclose how many wiretaps and other surveillance measures they use annually, and the appropriate congressional committees could request explanations of those actions they deem questionable. In addition, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and FISA Court of Review, which review the legitimacy of surveillance actions taken under the statute, could establish rules and procedures for itself, provided they share those rules with the House and Senate Intelligence and Judiciary committees and the Supreme Court.
S. 745, Privacy Act
Sponsor: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
Introduced: March 31, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S. 745 would make it illegal for commercial entities to collect personal information and post it on the Internet. The specific goal is to prevent the display, sale or purchase of Social Security numbers.
S. 769, Private Security Officer Employment Authorization Act
Sponsor: Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.
Introduced: April 2, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S. 769 would create a process for checking the backgrounds of applicants for jobs as private security officers. Under the bill, the applicants would grant their permission to use fingerprints or other identifiers for the background checks. The data would be checked against the electronic records of the FBI’s division on criminal-justice information services.
S. 1158, Library and Bookseller Protection Act
Sponsor: Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.
Introduced: May 23, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S. 1158 would protect bookstores and libraries from having to give authorities personal, identifiable information on customers or patrons. The bill would make it illegal for authorities to seize or search bookstore records for information that could identify customers. It also would exempt libraries from being described as providers of wire or electronic communication services, thus blocking authorities from accessing telephone and transaction information in an attempt to try to prevent terrorism and other crime.
S. 1350, Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act
Sponsor: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif
Introduced: June 26, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S. 1350 would require public- and private-sector agencies to notify people whose unencrypted personal information stored in databases may have been compromised. The measure is modeled in part after a California law that took effect July 1, 2003. The bill would define "personal data" Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, state identification numbers, bank-account numbers and credit-card numbers. The measure would set the fines for violators as high as $25,000 per day of violation.
S. 1484, Citizens' Protection In Federal Databases Act
Sponsor: Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
Introduced: July 29, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S. 1484 would make federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies' funding contingent upon reporting to Congress how they use citizens' private information. That measure, S. 1484, also would prevent the use of such information for hypothetical counter-terrorist searches of commercial databases. The bill was introduced in response to the Defense Department's now-defunct Terrorism Information Awareness initiative, which would have mined commercial databases for personal information that could identify potential terrorists.
S. 1507, Library, Bookseller and Personal Records Privacy Act
Sponsor: Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis.
Introduced: July 31, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S.1507 would limit the government’s right to access the records of customers at libraries, bookstores and other places when trying to identify terrorists. The measure, introduced in response to the 2001 anti-terrorism law known as the USA PATRIOT Act, would allow for "reasonable limits" on the FBI's access to medical and financial records or other personal data. Bill sponsor Russell Feingold, D-Wis., cited a study that said about 550 U.S. libraries had received requests from law enforcement in a year’s time. About half of the libraries said they complied with the requests.
S. 1533, Identity Theft Victims Assistance Act
Sponsor: Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
Introduced: July 31, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S.1533 would create a national mechanism to help individuals confirm when they are victims of identity theft and to restore accurate information. An estimated 7 million cases of identity fraud were reported in 2003, a 79 percent increase over the previous year. Instead of relying on individuals or companies to revise records after the theft of personal data, the national center called for in the bill would ensure access to business records of credit charges incurred and allow states to pursue civil penalties against thieves.
S. 1544, Data-Mining Reporting Act
Sponsor: Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis.
Introduced: July 31, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S. 1544 would require federal agencies that “mine” computer databases for personal information in criminal and security-related investigations to report these activities to Congress. Each report would detail the particular technology being used, an assessment of its efficiency and the impact on personal privacy and civil liberties. A discussion of the changing use of such data would be part of the reporting to ensure that only accurate data is used and that personal data is protected.
S. 1633, Identity Theft Notification and Credit Restoration Act
Sponsor: Sen. John Corzine, D-N.J.
Introduced: Sept. 17, 2003
Committee: Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Description: S. 1633 would require financial institutions to inform victims of identity theft of theft of personal data in a timely manner. Those people affected would have “fraud alerts” inserted into their credit reports to inform creditors, and those consumers would need to pre-authorize any additional lines of credit. Financial institutions also would have to develop an information security plan for addressing ID crimes. In addition, victims of identity theft would be granted several free credit reports in the year after the crime, and non-affected consumers also would have access to one free credit report each year.
S. 1695, PATRIOT Oversight Restoration Act
Sponsor: Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
Introduced: Oct. 1, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S. 1695 would expand the sunset provision in the 2001 anti-terrorism law known as the USA PATRIOT Act so that more government surveillance powers would expire at the end of five years. The bill's sponsors said the change would allow Congress to review whether the statute is accomplishing its goals and how well. The new provisions that would expire under the measure would include one that broaden the types of information law enforcement may obtain, upon request, from electronic communication providers and cable operators via “sneak and peak,” or delayed notification, search warrants and another that would give law enforcement greater authority to access telephone, bank and credit records.
S. 1709, Security and Freedom Ensured (SAFE) Act
Sponsor: Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho
Introduced: Oct. 2, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S. 1709 would amend the 2001 anti-terrorism law known as the USA PATRIOT Act to limit the use of surveillance and the issuance of search warrants. The bill would limit “roving wiretaps” allowed under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and change the rules for notifying people that they are subjects of search warrants. The measure also would revise when law enforcement could access consumer records at libraries and bookstores, as well as impose privacy protections for computer users at libraries.
S. 1743, Private Security Officer Employment Authorization Act
Sponsor: Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.
Introduced: Oct. 16, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S. 1743 would let employers access the criminal records of people applying for jobs as private security officers. Employers would have to obtain written consent from the employees for the searches and could conduct them only once a year. The Senate passed the bill by voice vote on Nov. 17, 2003.
S. 1753, National Consumer Credit-Reporting System Improvement Act
Sponsor: Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.
Introduced: Oct. 17, 2003
Committee: Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Description: S.1753 would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to give consumers greater control over their own credit reports. The bill seeks to prevent identity theft by allowing consumers to submit fraud alerts that remain on their credit records for up to seven years. The measure also would give consumers greater access to their consumer reports, requiring agencies to provide free access to consumer reports once a year, and it would limit the sharing of certain consumer information.
S. 1963, Wireless 411 Privacy Act
Sponsor: Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.
Introduced: Nov. 25, 2003
Committee: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Description: S. 1963 seeks to protect the privacy rights of subscribers to wireless communication services. The measure would give wireless subscribers the right to keep their cellular telephone numbers from being listed in directory-assistance databases and would require wireless providers to get permission from existing customers to list their numbers. The goal is to prevent wireless subscribers from receiving unwanted phone calls. A related measure, S. 1973, was introduced.
S. 1973, Wireless 411 Privacy Act
Sponsor: Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio
Introduced: Nov, 25, 2003
Committee: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Description: S. 1973 seeks to protect the privacy rights of subscribers to wireless communication services. The measure would give wireless subscribers the right to keep their cellular telephone numbers private. Users also could refuse to accept forwarded calls from directory assistance to protect their identities and reduce the charges for such calls. The bill would prohibit the publication of a wireless phone directory by service providers. The goal is to prevent wireless subscribers from receiving unwanted phone calls. A related measure, S. 1963, was introduced.

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